September 27, 2012

Spears, Hatcher react to Cowboys being No. 1 on defense in NFL

The Cowboys are No. 1 in defense. Just like defensive coordinator
Rob Ryan predicted they would be a year ago when he got the job.

“He said it, and he did it,” defensive end Jason Hatcher said. “Kudos
to our coach.”

But what does it mean? Strictly speaking, that the Cowboys have
allowed the fewest yards of any team in the NFL.

“It’s not a big deal at all,” defensive end Marcus Spears said. “Each
one of you guys know that this is a marathon, and you can go from the penthouse
to the outhouse in this game within a matter of seven days. That’s for our fans
and you guys to talk about, but next week, it could all be different if we don’t
perform. So we don’t really pay much attention to it.”

But there is some meaning in it psychologically, Jason Hatcher
says.

“It makes you feel good to be a part of it,” he said. “Hopefully,
we can keep playing the way we have been. Hopefully, we can keep just putting
games together each and every Sunday. It makes me feel good just to be starting
on a No. 1 defense.

“Stick my chest out a little bit, man.”

So can the Cowboys keep it up?

“I think we’ve definitely got the talent to do it,” Hatcher said.
“We just got to keep honing in. It’s just the small things we’ve got to take
care of. It keeps showing up every Sunday. We still do some good things, but if
you go back and look, it’s the small, detail things we’ve got to keep working
on and keep getting better.”